3 Reasons To Attend the Park Tool School at Action Wheels
One of the joys of cycling is the ability to travel far from home while being a part of the environment...you feel the wind in your hair, you smell the freshly mown hay, you hear the faint call of a lonely hawk from the distant tree line. You are a part of the scene, not an observer behind a sheet of glass speeding by at 50 miles an hour, distracted by the sounds of the motor and the buzz of the radio.
But, unfortunately, it is just this freedom that causes a lot of people some anxiety. The farther we wander from the safety of home, the louder that little voice gets: "What will you do if you get a flat out here in the middle of nowhere? What if it tears my tire? I heard Bob broke his chain last week...you ready to walk home 10 miles in those shoes?" Even the ever-present cell phone does little to help ease the nervousness..."Who do I call? And will they really want to come and get me? And do I want to stand out here in this 90 degree heat for an hour 'til they get here?"
Tool School is an excellent way to finally quiet that little voice! Most emergencies you encounter on the road can be remedied with just a few easily carried tools and a little know-how...after completing the Park Tool School you should be ready to tackle most roadside repair situations.
OK, so you have to pay for the class, and you'll probably need to get a few tools that aren't found in the ol' Craftsman toolbox, but working on your own ride can save you money in the long run. The routine maintenance procedures that you will learn can prevent the need for costly repairs in the future as you find that well maintained parts last longer and perform better.
I don't want to sound old and grumpy, but it seems that every passing year removes us further from the machines that seem more and more prevalent in our daily lives. Own a late model car? Take a look under the hood...they're practically sealed off from your prying hands. Have some electronic device that just doesn't work like it should anymore? Chances are you'll have to replace it, because repair just isn't possible or economically feasible.
Now take a look at your bicycle. It looks a lot like a bike you might see in a picture taken a hundred years ago. (Sure, there have been huge leaps in cycling technology, but I have to tell you, when I look at an old bike I'm usually struck more by how similar it is to the bike I ride, not how different.) Your bicycle is an incredibly efficient machine that you can maintain. You can repair it.
Being able to take something that doesn't work as it should and return it to fully working order is a worthwhile skill to have. An understanding of bicycle maintenance and repair can increase the joy that cycling brings to your life...because the more you learn about the bike the more you realize just what an amazing machine it is.
-Rich Daniluk
rich@actionwheels.com